PCS Season

Published April 27, 2012
By Master Sgt. Angel Samuel
7th Logistics Readiness Squadron

DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Dyess Air Force Base Traffic Management Office (TMO) wants service members, federal employees and their families to know a smooth move for household goods is possible during peak moving season with proper planning and attention to detail.

Summer Permanent Change of Station moves within the continental United States are in full swing. Much like last season, the entire DOD is experiencing difficulty obtaining Transportation Service Providers to pack and pick up personal property shipments. The DOD attributes this to several factors to include limited carrier capacity, an increase in private sector moves, an overall commercial driver shortage and the normal large volume of requests for property movement from May through August each year with the peak of the peak between Memorial Day and 4th of July.

To offset the impact to families, your Dyess AFB TMO are using all available tools and options to manage shipment volume and move property in accordance with customers' requested pickup dates. To that end, they are working closely with the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and commercial industry to identify carriers who are able to service shipments. The Personal Property Shipping offices are also placing some shipments into temporary storage at origin locations. Furthermore, the military services have been working with industry to add flexibility to business rules with a goal of securing maximum carrier capacity

All DOD service members and civilians, including their families, have two avenues to manage their move based on local policies.

The first is the traditional visit to the local Traffic Management Office as soon as you have PCS orders in-hand, and receive a relocation briefing. If this is your first move, you are separating, or retiring, you will need some additional information on your options for moving before initiating your move in the Defense Personal Property System or DPS. All other individuals will need to pick up some additional instructions for processing your move through DPS and a Personal Property Shipment Worksheet (this will ensure all the necessary information needed for updating DPS is right at your finger tips) from your Dyess Personal Property Processing Office/TMO.

The alternative is to use the Defense Personal Property System, or DPS, which is accessed through the website, www.move.mil. This website is the portal for DPS and the one-stop shop where members can completely manage their move process.

Members using move.mil for the first time will find online training videos and presentations explaining how to navigate through the move process.

Create a personal moving calendar with checklists, phone numbers and links to critical moving processes and information

Your Transportation Office (TO) or Personal Property Shipping Office (PPSO) is the primary point of contact for customer service. It is never too early to ask questions. The Dyess AFB Transportation Office/TMO telephone numbers are 696-1020/2045 and the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office in San Antonio, Texas, has a contact number which is 1-800-599-7709.

Once you get your orders and know the dates you want to move, immediately start the moving process. Contact your TO/PPSO to learn all options available to you, including a Personally Procured Move. The sooner you start the better chance you have to lock in your preferred move date

Because there are so many competing pressures for personal property movement this summer, it is important to focus on a few things Dyess Airman can do to offset the impact. First, one thing "you can do" is review your schedule and work with the assignments team to determine if you can postpone your move; change your report-no-later-than-date until after the summer season when carriers are better able to pack and pick up your property.

Flexibility affords the Personal Property Shipping Offices an expanded opportunity to move personal property.

Another very important thing "you can do" is elect the option to perform a Personally Procured Move (formerly DITY). This option allows you to control move dates and ensures they have ready access to their property upon arrival at the new location. There are several PPM options including one that reimburses up to what the government would have paid for the move and another where you could receive a financial incentive if your move costs less than 95 percent of the government's constructed cost. Factors such as weight limit, actual weight of property moved and distance between origin and destination determine the amount of money involved.

In addition to the old "rent a truck" PPM option, you now have access to new modes within the commercial industry called Portable Moving and Storage Containers. These come in the form of containers dropped at your door that YOU pack and the company picks up, transports, stores and then delivers at your destination at your request. Some companies also offer a menu of associated services including full or partial packing. If you want to discuss the benefits of PPMs, your local Personal Property Processing Office (formerly TMO) can provide an estimate of the cost factors, describe the particulars of the programs and help determine if this option will work for you.

Some additional tips
Pack, pickup and delivery dates are usually scheduled on weekdays. You or your designated representative must be available between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You don't want to miss your move dates as this will cause unnecessary hardship on everyone and possibly extra expenses for you. We request everyone moving provide alternate dates, just in case the carriers are completely booked for the dates you requested. Move dates are not confirmed until you coordinate with your Transportation Service Provider (the company contracted to do your move).

Have a good estimated weight of your personal property. A quick method for estimating your weight is to calculate 1,000 pounds per room or 1,500 pounds for heavily furnished rooms. A more accurate estimate can be made using the weight estimator found at move.mil (DOD Service Members and Federal Civilians (DOD) Tab > Weight Allowance Tab > Weight Estimator Tab. Keep in mind this is only an estimate and each individual shipment will vary.

Moving is a good time to dispose of unnecessary items. This will help you avoid excess weight charges if your shipment is close to the authorized weight allowance. You don't want to ship and pay for something you don't want.

You may request a reweigh of your personal property shipment at no cost to you. This is done when you are near or over your weight allowance.

If you are making more than one shipment, make sure you clearly separate them at your residence. Packing and loading for multiple shipments should be scheduled on separate days to avoid confusion. You want the right items going to the right destination.

Move.mil places you in direct contact with your moving company to manage the movement of your personal property. It is imperative to keep your contact information (phone number and e-mail address) updated in move.mil.

If you have a delivery address for your personal property and want direct delivery, it is important to work closely with your moving company to arrange delivery and avoid your personal property being placed in temporary storage. Also any changes in your dates please keep your local TMO informed. This will ensure a quality control inspector will be able to check on the status of your shipment at time of pickup or delivery; sometimes the updated information does not filter down to us. You can find the "It's Your Move," "Shipping Your Privately Owned Vehicle" and "Storing Your POV" pamphlets on the move.mil website. These pamphlets provide explanations on responsibilities for personal property and POV shipments and are a great source for additional moving tips to help you prepare for the move.

For questions or concerns about the moving process, the first stop for assistance should always be your local Personal Property Shipping Office or Installation Transportation Office, however, if you experience any technical problems while using move.mil, the System Response Center help desk is there to help. Simply call (800) 462-2176 or 618-220-SDDC (DSN 770-7332) or send an email message to sddc.safb.dpshd@us.army.mil.

Below are useful pamphlets you should review prior to attending your initial counseling session with your Transportation Office.

The "It's Your Move Pamphlet" can be found at:

For military: WWW.TRANSCOM.MIL/J5/PT/DTRPART4/DTR_PART_IV_APP_K_1.PDF.

For Civilians: WWW.TRANSCOM.MIL/J5/PT/DTRPART4/DTR_PART_IV_APP_K_2.PDF.

The Shipping and Storing Your Privately Owned Vehicle Pamphlets can be found at:

SDDCBIZ.SDDC.ARMY.MIL/PUBLIC/PERSONAL%20PROPERTY/VEHICLESPOV